The Farming Saint in the Starry Wasteland (Elizabeth Schofield) novel Chapter 473

Chapter 473

customers got grumpy waiting in line, a few words from her would trave them laughing

Her team lead taught he how to pick out the best strawberries, how to pack them, and how to talk customers through varieties, and she picked it up so fast she could hold her own at the stall in just two day

And the rest of them were just as impressive.

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Chapter 473 The Pay Cut Metuo

Chapter 473 The Pay Cut Memo

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Every single one of them kept their stalk spotless and running like clockwork. They were terrified that one slip up could cost them this dream job.

Fiona saw that they had plenty of staff but not quite enough stalls, so she sent a message up to Elizabeth for the green light.

“Boss, I’ve brought in a fresh batch of hires lately, and I’d like to add a few more stalls. Are you good with that?”

Elizabeth’s reply came right back.

“Mercury Plaza is my personal property now. Do whatever you want with it. From here on out, you call the shots on stuff like this. No need to run it by me.”

Fiona stared at the message for a beat.

Call the shots herself?

An operation this big, and the boss was just handing the reins to her?

That was a whole lot of trust, maybe more than she had bargained for.

She shook her head and smiled.

3

The boss seemed laid-back and cheerful on the surface, but she always had her own way of doing things, with a logic all her own.

So the next day, Mercury Plaza’s stalls went from the original few dozen to over a hundred in one go.

More stalls meant more product.

Strawberries, grapes, apples, tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, greens, radishes, cabbage, peppers, eggplant… a dazzling spread that filled the whole plaza.

From a distance, it was a riot of color, like someone had tipped over a paint palette.

But more stalls meant even more customers showing up.

The lines weren’t getting shorter. They were getting longer by the day.

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From the plaza entrance all the way out to the street across the way, around the corner, around another corner, winding and twisting like something you couldn’t see the end of.

Some people came before dawn, armed with folding chairs, water bottles, and sun umbrellas, all geared up for the long haul.

Some traveled from the other end of the city, taking a two-hour subway ride just to grab a carton of strawberries.

Some hit up relatives, called in favors from friends, begged neighbors, jumping through every hoop they could think of, all to get their hands on a single internal employee purchase list.

Mercury Plaza was hopping, but over at the Seafarm Group stores, it was a different story entirely.

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Chapter 473 The Pay Cist Matuo

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85 m. the Whisperwind Street flagship store opened

A handful of people stood outside, drifted in, took a quick lap, picked up some meat, eggs, and milk, and left.

By 9 a.m., a few more came in.

By 10 a.m., a couple more.

Cyndi stood next to the register, watching the trickle of customers, her face like a thundercloud.

A few weeks ago, this was the busiest time of day at the register.

And now?

The cashier was standing there spacing out, hands not even moving.

She walked over to the fresh produce section and looked at the rows of perfectly stacked fruits and vegetables, her stomach twisting in knots.

Strawberries. Nobody buying.

Apples. Nobody buying.

Tomatoes. Nobody buying.

The greens, which had been sitting out for several days now because nobody had come for them, were starting to wilt without anyone sparing them a second glance.

All this stuff used to fly off the shelves before 9 a.m. Now it was dead weight.

Asher came down from the second floor, his face just as grim.

“Did you see today’s numbers?” he asked.

Cyndi nodded. “I saw. Compared to before… we’re down 60 percent.”

The corner of Asher’s mouth twitched.

60 percent.

It had only been a few days, and they were down 60 percent.

“The fruits and vegetables section is basically a wash,” Cyndi said. “We’re getting by on meat, eggs, and dairy right now. If we didn’t have meat, eggs, and dairy and the other guys did, then…”

She didn’t finish, but the meaning came through loud and clear.

We’d be done for.

Asher was quiet for a moment.

“What’s headquarters saying?”

Cyndi shook her head. “Still no word. But I’ve heard… the other stores are in about the same boat. Some are even worse off than,

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Chapter 473 The Pay Cud Matuo

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70 or no percent

Asher closed his eyes and look aricep breath,

“Cut the fruits and vegetables section in half,” he said “Use the space we free up to expand the meat, eggs, and dairy section. We can’t win on fruits and vegetables, so we stop competing. We grow the meat, eggs and dairy side, and we can still pall through?

Cyndi nodded and turned to go make it happen.

She took a few steps and then looked back.

“Asher, the people in the fruits and vegetables section… are we letting them go?”

Asher was quiet for a few seconds.

“Not yet,” he said. “Reassign them to meat, eggs, and dairy. The pay cut memo is already out. The ones who are going to leave will leave on their own. We’ll deal with the rest later.”

Cyndi didn’t say anything else and walked away.

The pay cut memo had gone out three days ago.

A flat 30 percent pay cut across the entire company.

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